Gophers' Andre Hollins will miss at least two games

Minnesota guard Andre Hollins lays on the floor after getting injured on the first play of the first half of Wednesday's game against Wisconsin at Williams Arena, January 22, 2014. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Andre Hollins has a "severe" left ankle injury that will sideline Minnesota's leading scorer for at least the next two games, starting Sunday at Nebraska, Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said Saturday.

"It's probably a lot worse than we thought it was going to be," Pitino said.

Hollins was hurt in the first 16 seconds of Wednesday's 81-68 win over No. 9 Wisconsin when he landed on an opponent's foot after hitting the game's first basket. He is averaging 15.4 points a game.

"It's too hard to predict exactly when he's going to come back," Pitino said. "We're going to take it day by day. It's not pretty right now. He's not going to play for the next two games at least."

X-rays ruled out a break, but Pitino said the team was unclear on the severity of the sprain until a couple of days later.

Senior guard Malik Smith, who scored 14 points against Wisconsin, will replace Hollins in the starting lineup when Gophers (15-5, 4-3) play the Cornhuskers (9-9, 1-5) today in Lincoln. Minnesota won't play again until Feb. 1 against Northwestern at Williams Arena.

Smith averages 9.8 points and so far has been less of a threat than Hollins to drive the lane, which could affect Minnesota's plans.

Hollins leads the team in free-throw attempts, making 96 of 114 (84.2 percent) this season. Smith is shooting a team-high 88.6 percent from the line but has only 44 attempts.

"(Hollins) gets to the foul line so much more than the next guy," Pitino said. "The next guy is in the 60s, which is DeAndre (Mathieu). So that, to me, is the biggest concern we have to make up for."

Maverick Ahanmisi, a senior, has to play the backup point guard role behind Mathieu now. Pitino also said the Gophers will have to "get creative" with how they fill the shooting guard position off the bench. The likely candidate is freshman Daquein McNeil, but he is more of a slasher than a jump shooter.

Without Hollins on Thursday, the Gophers relied more on penetration and their frontcourt against Wisconsin to score a season high 48 points in the paint. Much of that lift came from backup junior center Mo Walker, who had a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds.

"From top to bottom, we're pretty deep," Walker said. "Guys coming off the bench bring energy and can always bring something to the game. As long as we play together as a team and play without egos, we'll be fine."

Pitino said Andre Hollins had a really good attitude in a recent practice while getting treatment on the side of the court.

His leadership will continue to be a factor.

"If you asked him, he'll be back sooner than later," Pitino said. "But you have to be smart about it."